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SoCalHoops Tournament News

6th Annual dada/Long Beach Fall Hoops Classic,
September 11-13--(Aug. 8, 1998)

Ah, September 9-26, 1998. What's the significance of those dates, you ask? And if they are so signficant, then why does the headline above only read "Septbember 11-13?"

Well, the first dates, the 9th through the 26th of September, constitutes the fall "contact" period. Not only can college coaches evaluate a player during this period of time (like they can at least currently from July 8 through July 31), but they can also contact a player either in person or by phone. While the summer evaluation period is important to most colleges and players, the fall is equally important because of it's proximity in time to the fall signing period in November.

So Dinos Trigonis and the Belmont Shore Basketball Club will do their best again to fill one of the weekends of the fall evaluation/contact period, from September 11 to 13, while David and Dana Pump and Double Pump Inc, will do their best to fill the other weekend from September 20 and 21 with their Double Pump Fall Discovery Shootout.

First up is the Belmont Shore Basketball Club presenting the 6th Annual dada Long Beach Fall Hoops Classic on September 11, 12, and 13 at Long Beach City College. The tournament is an "invitation only", and is open to high school and club teams who pay the entry fee of $400.00. We know that there are still openings, so if you are interested or have a team looking for a tournament in early September, be sure to get your rosters, fees and related materials submitted to Dinos Trigonis at Belmont Shore Basketball by not later than Monday September 7. You can contact Dinos at:

Dinos Trigonis/Fall Hoops Classic
3104 Theresa Street
Long Beach, CA 90814
(562) 984-8355
Voice Mail (310) 669-2307

Prior versions of the Fall Classic, variously sponsored by FILA and now by apparel maker dada, have provent to be great events, and this one promises to also be one of the top "exposure" events of the fall. Last year's tournament featured players like Rashard Lewis (MVP) from Alief High in Texas, David Abramowitz (San Diego State), Ricky Anderson (University of Arizona), Julius Barnes (verballed to Stanford), Lionel Benjamin (Navy), Rafael Berumen (ABCD, uncommitted), Carlos Boozer (uncommitted, but UCLA's top priority), Flinder Boyd (Dartmouth), Jason Burns, Senque Carey (U. Washington), Ruben Douglas (University of Arizona), Drew Gaulden (New Mexico), Caleb Gervin (Louisville), David Hamilton (Auburn), Phil Jackman (Princeton), Broderick Hicks (Wake Forest), Chris Jeffries (Arkansas), Tayshaun Prince (Kentucky), Deandre Moore (Vanderbilt), and more. And this year's cast of characters will be just as impressive we're sure, featuring many of the top local and regional prospects, and a few national prospects as well. Typically there have been more than 100 college coaches and scouts in attendance during these events, including Lute Olsen, Roy Williams, Lorenzo Romar, Steve Lavin, Bill Bayno, Tubby Smith, Seth Greenberg, and many others.

The dada/Long Beach Fall Hoops Classic tournament will feature pool play with 4 teams in each pool, followed by a single elimination championship round for the teams that finish first in their pool, a consolation single elimination bracket for teams finishing second in their pools, and a singe "friendship" game between the 3rd and 4th place teams in each pool.

All high school players with 1998-99 CIF eligibility remaining can play, and the tournament will feature CIF and college certified officials. Again, while the event is "invitation only," if you are interested in entering your team, you really only need to contact Dinos to make sure that the invitation is extended.

The rules of play will be CIF high school rules, with the following exceptions: Each team will play 1 game on Friday evening, 2 games Saturday, and a least 1 game on Sunday. Games will be two 16 minute halves, stop clock, with a 5 minute half-time. Man-to-man defense will be permitted throughout the game, while zone defense will be permitted in the first half only. Full-court pressing and trapping defenses can be used in the entire game. Substitutions will be allowed freely, but each player on a team must play at least 8 minutes of every game, in deference to the concept that this is an "exposure" event and the college coaches come out to watch everyone (well, at least that's the theory). Fouls will be treated slightly differently than a high school game: A player is disqualified upon the 6th personal, but a player gets to reamin in the game after the 6th foul, and if he fouls again, the opposing team will shoot a technical in addition to any free-throws awarded.

The 1998 version of the Fall Hoops Classic will be great. Don't miss it. We'll see you there.